Ashes, Ashes
by Yotsubadancesintherain5
Summary: In which the adventure begins when Kris and Susie are children.
1. We've all tumbled down

The sunlight drifted across Kris' face and they opened their eyes. They moved so that they burrowed deeper into their bed, and then made a huffy noise before throwing the covers off. They opened their mouth and then closed it when they looked and remembered that Asriel was on a gardening trip with Asgore.

They got dressed, only struggling with buttons and shoe laces for a few minutes. Finally, they went to their nightstand and picked up a pair of red horns. They settled the headband onto their head, and grabbed their backpack before racing down the stairs.

"Be careful, Kris!" Toriel admonished from the kitchen and Kris stuck out their tongue just a little. They went into the bathroom and stood on their stool to brush their teeth.

When that was done that went into the kitchen and watched Toriel cook breakfast. They reached for an egg, and Toriel took notice.

"No, no, Kris," Toriel said, "Go sit at the table."

Kris made a motion, a pan flipping pancakes, and Toriel turned them around and pushed gently on their back. They sulkily walked to the table and settled into a chair.

When breakfast was served they wolfed it down to Toriel's scolding, "Don't eat so fast, my child."

Kris thought it was appropriate, as it befitted a Monster like in the storybooks.

When breakfast was over Toriel and Kris headed to the car and made it to the school. Kris followed Toriel into the classroom, and went to their assigned spot.

"Good morning, everyone," Toriel began, with a responding chorus of, "Good morning, Mrs. Toriel."

"Today we are going to- Oh, goodness me. It seems that the scissors have been misplaced," Toriel said. "I need a pair of helpers today."

A chorus of, "Me, me, me!" started and Toriel's laughter was louder.

"So many eager helpers!" she exclaimed. "But two will be just fine."

She tapped her chin, playfully, before deciding.

"Kris, Susie. Would you please go to the supply closet and retrieve a pair of scissors? They are on the bottom shelf."

Kris blinked and heard a small groan. Kris got up and saw that Susie was already walking out the door and they had to run to catch up to her.

The two were halfway to the supply closet when Susie muttered, "I wish Mrs. Toriel picked Noelle instead," and Kris tried a smile.

"That's creepy," she said, and continued on without them. Undeterred, Kris ran after her.

Their destination was at the end of the hall. The handles were a little too high so Kris stood on their tiptoes. They pulled open the door and looked inside. The supply closet was pitch-black dark and Kris carefully inched inside.

"Don't be a baby," Susie said, and she pushed past to one of the shelves. Kris followed her lead.

"And stop following me," she added, and then her face twisted with fear.

"Why is the door closed?" she asked, and without an answer the floor fell from underneath them.

Kris awoke in front of a little town and found that there was a wooden sword attached to their hip. They were wearing armor, and a cape was tied around their shoulders. They saw Susie a few feet away, and went to shake her awake.

She coughed, and pushed herself up. There was a pickaxe in her hand and she moved her hand up and down. It looked hefty.

"Cool," Susie said. "But where are we?"

Kris shrugged.

"Well, you're a lot of help." She pointed to the town ahead. "Then we'll go there. You lead the way, you'll crash into me if I go first."

Kris shouldered this responsibility with an empathetic nod, and walked into the town. There was a single denizen there, and he looked up when he heard them both approach.

"Welcome heroes – wait, oh, wait," the mysterious figure said. "You both are a bit…"

"A bit what?" Susie asked, some measure of bite in the question.

"Oh, nothing bad!" the mysterious figure exclaimed. "Just…a bit, a lot younger than what I was expecting. I wonder if the prophecy will still come true…"

"Prophecy?" Kris could see Susie's face crunch up with confusion.

"A story. But where are my manners? I'm Ralsei. I am the Prince of this Dark Kingdom."

He removed his hood and knelt down to their level.

"Kris, Susie. I'm very happy to make your acquaintance. But I believe it is too soon. You both must return home."

A loud crash cut off whatever he was going to say next; a bike was tipped over, and someone new was lying flat on the ground.

"I am not defeated that easily," was the muffled declaration. "I am Lancer, and-"

"Are you all right?!" Ralsei asked, and he rushed over to help.

He wasn't fast enough, because Lancer jumped up and began once again.

"Lighteners! You can't go to the - oh, did you shrink? That happens to my clothes when Lesser Dad-"

"No, they are children," Ralsei said. There was some exasperation in his voice. "Never mind everything else, we have to get them home."

"Why?" Lancer asked. His loud voice made Ralsei flinch a little. "They can have fun here!"

"He's loud. He's cool," Susie said, though no one heard it besides Kris.

"They are lost," Ralsei said. "And they are tiny! They cannot go into battle against the Darkeners. But, then, to get them past the King…"

"They're lost?" Lancer's hands flew to his face. "Horrible! Repugnant! Oh, a maze! Even a bad guy like me doesn't want _that_."

"I'm Susie." That one they did hear. "Show me a scary face!"

"Like this?" Lancer stuck out his tongue and let it hang to the side.

"No, this!" Susie lunged forward with all her teeth showing and Lancer jumped back.

"You're good! I like you," Lancer declared when the shock wore off.

"Okay? Okay, good, good, we all like each other," Ralsei interjected.

"Speak for yourself." Susie spared a look at Kris.

"Nonetheless! We have to get you two home," Ralsei stressed. "Lancer, will you help?"

"I shall! Just follow me!"

He took a few steps before stopping.

"Wait. King Dad might not like that there are Lighteners lighting up the place…"

"It's okay!" Ralsei said. "We could… pretend that they got sent to the dungeon! Then we secretly break them out, and take them home!"

"What if King Dad finds out?"

"I have magic," Ralsei said. "It'll make him sleep,"

"Like a sweet little peach," Lancer said. "I like it! Let's go!"

He ran ahead and Susie followed. Ralsei looked like he was going to protest before breathing out and merely following them. Kris went along with him.

They were united in the training room; Lancer was trying to make the dummy talk and possibly join them while Susie tried to intimidate it with showing off her teeth. Ralsei went to break them up.

Kris noticed a chest nearby and walked to it. The lock fell apart easily in their hands, and they opened up the chest to find a white ribbon nestled inside.

The ribbon in the chest was rolled up; Kris let it unravel, and pulled on the ribbon to look at it closely. They nodded and put it in their pocket before running to join the others.

With the apparent crown prince in tow, the Darkeners merely looked in curiosity at the misfit group. Kris would only stop to reach for the dark purple candy growing on the reddish-orange trees, shaking them down to give to the others.

"Always love that flavor!" Lancer shouted when he took a bite.

"You've had this before?" Ralsei asked.

"No!" Lancer ate the candy and heartily laughed.

Susie scoffed at Kris eagerly biting into the candy. They looked back down at the candy and chewed on it slower.

It was halfway through the forest that they discovered some old blueprints and Lancer began jumping up and down in excitement.

"It's my robot plans," he said. "Who wants to help me build it?"

"Lancer, is it really-"

"I will!" Susie shouted, and she grabbed Lancer's hand and dragged him along, with the blueprints in his other hand.

"We'll meet you ahead!" Lancer called as they went deeper into the forest.

After a silence Ralsei said, "Well. At least they are having fun."

Now was the time; Kris tugged on Ralsei's sleeve and he looked down at them.

"What is it, Kris?"

Kris made a motion for him to lean his head down. He did so, and they took out the ribbon. They made a loop around his head, did a messy bunny-ears knot, and pulled on the loops of the ribbon until the laces of the ribbon were very close to the knot. The bow sat hugely on his head.

"Does it look pretty, Kris?" Ralsei asked.

Kris nodded.

"I'm glad," he said.

"Would you like to follow them?" Ralsei added after a few seconds.

Kris answered by leading the way.

The Darkeners still did not engage in combat, perhaps recognizing them, or deterred by the fact that Kris was a child. It didn't take long for the pair to come to a clearing in the forest.

"I hear Susie and Lancer," Ralsei said, and Kris ran ahead of him. They saw the two in the middle of the clearing, standing beside a mechanism covered by a cloth, and could hear their conversation.

"Kris is just… is just…" Susie finished off her sentence with a loud growling noise.

"Why do you treat the blue kid so badly?" Lancer asked bluntly.

"I just don't wanna to be on this adventure with Kris," Susie said. "Asriel is better. He makes friends with everyone. Even kids in the grades above and below him. Even the teachers! It's hard to believe that they are siblings."

"If someone is that super-cool, it must rub on those around them," Lancer suggested.

"No. Though, Kris is always wearing those stupid horns. It's not like anybody's gonna love them like how people love Asriel."

Kris swiped their hand across their cheeks and despite Ralsei's worried protests they strode past Susie and Lancer and the mysterious robot, and deeper into the forest.

It wasn't until a mysterious castle was in sight that Kris finally stopped. They coughed and lifted up their hands to their head. They loosened the horns from their head and wound up their arm, throwing the accessory as far as it could go. It became like a red shooting star in the distance, and Kris' breath was shuddery.

It took a long while for the others to find Kris; they rubbed their cheeks and they put on a brave, proud face when they were spotted.

"You found the way all on your own," Ralsei said, "I'm impressed!"

"Kris, where are-" and Susie stopped then, choosing to hide her face and walk ahead.

"So yeah, blue kid's head is less red, but!" Lancer declared, "The plan is still on!"

The trek to the castle began, and Kris didn't need much effort to produce more tears.


	2. A pocket full of dreams

When they had gotten close to the castle gate Lancer proceeded with the plan, yelling about Lighteners and calling for guards, and the ambush became considerably less violent than what could be expected when the soldiers realized there were two children in the heroes' ranks.

They were brought to the dungeon, Susie in a separate cell. Lancer had told the guards that he needed to give this prisoner an especially stern talking-to about being a good prisoner. Kris could hear him whispering. When their own instructions were done and the guards left Kris was left with their own thoughts.

The cell was damp and rancid water crept alongside Kris' shoes. Their tears had long since dried and their head felt painfully bare.

They had become acquainted with the moss nearby and reflected on the color. Asriel, Ralsei, now this moss. The only friends in their life were green. Maybe it was the only color that could go this low. They began digging their finger into the moss.

"Susie is going to find a way out," Ralsei said, and Kris was aware that there were other words beforehand but didn't care. Ralsei regarded the engraving in the moss.

"I think the L stands for winner," Ralsei said, and it was cheerful enough that Kris almost cracked a smile but then Susie's voice echoed into the cell.

"I solved the puzzle," she said, entirely too giddy, and Kris pushed themselves up.

Ralsei followed her, and looked behind.

"Come on, Kris, let's go," Susie said, stepping closer.

Kris pulled their arms back and shoved her as hard as they could, before sprinting out of the cell and further into the dungeon.

They found a perfectly good wall to sulk against, and so fell down to sit against the wall. They crossed their arms over their legs and waited for nothing in particular.

Something in particular arrived, and Ralsei knelt down in front of them.

"Kris," he said, quietly, "It's time to go."

Kris wiped their nose with their sleeve and wrapped their arms tighter around their knees. It took a few seconds before they breathed out, and pushed themselves up.

Kris glared at Susie once, who averted her gaze, and they grabbed Ralsei's paw as the trio walked out of the dungeon.

Lancer's Lesser Dad let them through with no trouble at all, only with a, "Thou bewarest of thy king's ownst power," and it was too jumbled up for Kris to wrap their head around.

The air was cold on the top of the castle and the trio walked cautiously; and got close enough to see the King with his hands around Lancer's neck.

"Put my friend down!" Susie yelled, running and nearly right in front of the King before Lancer weakly protested.

The King's grip loosened and Lancer ran, with Susie looking upward, growling and her shoulders heaving.

"Are you a hero, then?" The King asked as he leaned down, his smile stretching out and the teeth on his stomach clacked. Susie balked before screaming in his face.

"Susie, over here!" Ralsei called out desperately, and she took a swipe at the King's legs with her pickaxe before sprinting back to her teammates.

Ralsei put up a barrier just before a spade flew through the air. It clinked uselessly against the barrier, but still the trio huddled together.

"What do we do?" Susie hissed.

"I-I don't know!" Ralsei stuttered, and he increased the power of the barrier when the King threw an ensnaring trap.

"Kris, do you-"

The barrier broke, bits of light dissipating into nothingness, and the King was right there, both of his mouths ghoulishly grinning.

He grabbed Susie by her hair, and dropped her just as fast, howling. Kris' wooden sword was embedded in his knee and yanked out in one swift motion. He snarled and spades appeared above them, Ralsei tried to create another barrier but it kept disappearing in his hands, the spades plummeted down.

They disappeared when a call rung out in the air, an ear-piercing sound that made the King fall back with his hands clamped over his ears.

A crowd rushed in, Lancer standing on the top, and his proclamation was declared:

"The people are sick of you, King Dad! You won't be hurting any more kids if you're in the dungeon!"

The cheering rumbled through the air and the crowd left just as fast as it arrived.

Ralsei only had to say, "That was something…"

His composure came back, and he added, "The fountain is right over there."

Kris nodded once, hesitated for just a moment, and began walking into the room where Ralsei pointed.

They heard loud footfalls behind them, and, "Wait, Kris!" and they stopped in their tracks. Their hands curled into fists.

"Kris," Susie said, her breath coming in and out in forceful gulps, "I, wow, running is hard, I need to tell you something."

Kris pressed their hands against their ears tightly and still Susie's words, "Kris, please, please," came through. They let their hands drop to their sides.

"In the jail I talked to Ralsei," Susie said, "And I found out. So, Kris, listen."

Kris turned around, crossing their arms.

"I said that, and it was a lie and… unacc… unacca… unaccept… it wasn't a good thing to say," Susie said. "I'm really sorry, Kris. Even if you play bad pranks, I think – I _know_, everyone at home loves you."

Kris tapped their foot, before relaxing their hunched shoulders. They turned to face her and made a peace sign.

Susie's tense face relaxed, and she stepped closer before tentatively taking Kris' hand.

"Wanna say good-bye to everyone?"

Kris nodded and let Susie pull them back into the next room.

There was a lot of cheering at their presence and Lancer kept making his proclamations – "Bad dads go into the dungeon, Lighteners are welcomed!" – and only stopped to give a rigorous handshake to Kris and a near bone-crushing hug to Susie.

Ralsei was the last to be given a farewell, and Kris immediately went in for a hug.

"Gimmie a big chocolate cake next time," Susie said optimistically.

"I will." And then, "Kris? I have something for you."

Kris stepped back and looked up. Ralsei pulled one end of the ribbon loose from his head and pressed it against the crown of Kris' head. He wove it into Kris' hair and tied a bow so that it rested on the side of Kris' head. The bow was tweaked until it was perfectly even on both sides.

"It looks nice on you," he said, with a smile that was wonderfully familiar.

Kris went in for one more hug, and waved as they walked until he was out of sight.

The fountain swirled upward, and engulfed the children as they stepped into it and Kris was thrown upward and downward before settling on the ground. There was carpet that depicted towns and roads and Kris saw an old plush as they pushed up.

"We're back in the closet," Susie said, stunned, and then there were loud stomps on the tile outside. The King flashed in Kris' mind and they tried to join Susie under the shelves but were caught by a pair of thankfully skinny arms.

"I found you!" Kris' captor declared, and they were swiftly escorted out of the room and into the arms of their mom.

"Kris!" their mom cried out, holding them very tight, "Where did you go? I was so worried!"

Kris opened their mouth but was hugged again, and they could see Alphys run up.

"Oh, good, good, you f-found Kris!" Alphys said, as she leaned over to catch her breath.

"What about Susie? Has anyone found her, Officer…" Toriel trailed off, and Kris shifted in her arms so that they could look forward.

Their captor has gotten Susie out of the room, and she proudly held up the child.

"Found her!"

"_Thank_ you, Officer Undyne." Kris could feel some tightness in her breath loosen at the sight of her other student.

"Y-y-yes, t-t-thank y…" Alphys' words came out all wheezy.

Toriel nudged her forward, with an all-too familiar, approving expression, the sort that said, "Go and take the risk, good things will happen."

Then Undyne placed Susie on the ground and ran out, shouting that the traffic would be utterly lost without her.

"T-t-this is great," Alphys said to break the silence, "It's like, like, in my ani- my _shows_, where e-e-everyone comes together to s-s-show that they love the main ch-character…"

Toriel gave a look, something new that made Kris feel grounded and warm.

"Ms. Alphys, thank you," she said, finally. "I will tell Susie's father that she is alright. Perhaps Officer Undyne will need help with the traffic."

"O-oh, okay," Alphys said, and she had a strange hop in her step as she left.

Toriel put Kris down, and she knelt down to the children's level.

"Susie, Kris," she said, the stern mom voice on, "We are very glad that you are safe. But why did you both hide?"

"Kris lost their horns," Susie said, the lie stumbling over her teeth, "And we looked and looked but couldn't find them."

Toriel's face fell, and she said, "Oh, Kris. I'm so sorry, I did not notice."

She saw the replacement, and said, "But you have found a very beautiful ribbon."

Kris nodded.

"I am unhappy that you both disappeared, without telling a grown-up," Toriel said, "But I am glad that you are safe. Still, Kris, there were be no dessert tonight."

Susie made a face, seemingly realizing that her dessert privileges would be revoked for the night too.

"Can Susie come with us for hot chocolate?" Kris asked, the question almost too heavy for them to say.

Confusion, realization and then a soft smile crossed Toriel's face and she replied, "Of course, my dear."

After, with Susie and her father reuniting, the confirmation that it was all right to go for hot chocolate after service the next Sunday, and the ride home, Toriel for the first time invited Kris to help her with dinner. Kris nodded, and then went to get their backpack, to put in their room, and walked to where it was resting against the living room wall.

The calendar said only three more days before their father and brother would return home. Kris tapped on the dates before the big, red circle, picked up the backpack, and turned away to walk through the kitchen and up the stairs.

Upstairs, the mirror showed Kris with a white ribbon in their hair. Fairy tales went through their head, of looking glasses and boxes from the sea, and there was a silent promise to never let this ribbon out of their sight.

**A/N: Originally posted on AO3 on February 28 2019 to March 4 2019**

**This was like a, "What if this good thing happened to you when you were much younger and it helped shape you as a person," since in canon there is a little hope at the end of the adventure, soul tearing out notwithstanding.**

**But also in that when Kris and Susie go missing there's not a lot of concern, not just because they're vaguely in the teen range but because they're outcasts of the seemingly idyllic town. So it was like a, "We've known it before but this crisis really makes us realize how much we love these kids," and that this fear and then relief would make the townspeople treat them better. In that way the town really does become idyllic.**


End file.
